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(WGHP) — Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley is traveling the length of the state in her campaign to be the Democratic nominee for the US Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Richard Burr. 

And no matter where she goes, she hears many of the same things, starting with how people seem to be paying more for just about everything.

“I think people are deeply troubled by rising gas prices…in a state where people are struggling, that is a real issue,” Beasley said.

As to whether the US should increase its production of oil and natural gas, she doesn’t see that as a long-term solution.

“I think in the short term, that works. But in the long term, we really have to aggressively be thinking about how climate change affects the state,” she said. “And here, the hurricane season gets longer every year. We have droughts, and then we have sea levels rising, so everybody is affected by climate change. We have to reduce carbon emissions by half by the year 2030 and invest in other kinds of clean energy sources like wind and solar.”

When she’s asked about how you both reduce gas prices now and cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, she doesn’t see a contradiction.

“Those aren’t mutually exclusive. We really can still be fighting climate change and its impact on the people of the state at the same time,” Beasley said.

Beasley says there are certainly other themes she hears as she speaks to voters.

“In speaking to people around the state, I hear about access to healthcare and climate change and good-paying jobs and a strong economy. Washington has failed the people of North Carolina, and it’s time for that to change,” she said.

As a senator, she would have to deal with issues far beyond America’s shores, including things like the current war in Ukraine and whether the US should commit soldiers to the fight.

“At this point, we are where we need to be with our alliance with NATO and continue to assess the situation on a daily basis,” she said.

See more of Justice Beasley’s interview with FOX8’s Bob Buckley in this edition of the Buckley Report.